Bücher der Reihe Current Topics in Neurobiology

Studies of simple and emerging systems have been undertaken to un derstand the processes by which a developing system unfolds, and to understand more completely the basis of the complexity of the fully formed structures.

Because of the ability that it affords to analyze smaller components of the nervous system (even single cells in some cases) and to better control experimental variables, cell culture has become an increasingly valuable tool for neuroscientists.

Is the specificity so precise that the neurites of one neuron will only make synaptic contact with a unique target neuron? The third section contains studies seeking to identify the existence of specific molecules that might mediate cellular recognition.

The immunohistochemical detection of these antigens has led to new insights into the functional organization of the nervous system, and reference to such studies is almost a sz'ne qua non for discussions of most central and peripheral synapses.

The impetus for compiling this book was the recent development of culture strains of neuroblastoma and glial cells and the immediate and enthusiastic way they have been taken up as model systems.

This book is a collection of papers describing some of the first attempts to apply the techniques of recombinant DNA and molecular biology to studies of the nervous system. Molecular biology is by nature a reductionist approach to biology.